Showing posts with label print books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label print books. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 02, 2022

The Astounding Analog Companion: THE HUMBLE BOOK REIMAGINED by David Cleden

 The Astounding Analog Companion: THE HUMBLE BOOK REIMAGINED by David Cleden

(Editorial note--- I was not a fan at all when eBooks started. Then Sandi got sick with cancer. Chemo and all the rest of it meant lots of trips to the hospital, docs, and such. It also meant carrying an extra bag, as we did when the kids were little. This time it was meds and other stuff for her and snacks for the multi hour ordeals. Being on a cane and all, pushing her wheelchair, etc., meant that carrying much weight was not an option. Having eBooks was a magnificent thing.)

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Do Some Damage: The Great e-Book War

Do Some Damage: The Great e-Book War: By David Nemeth When I started my blog, I was a devotee to e-books; they’re cheaper, quicker to obtain, and advance reader copies cost ...

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sample Sunday: Excerpt from "BLACKOUT" by Jan Christensen

This week Texas author Jan Christensen shares an excerpt from her new mystery BLACKOUT. The synopsis below is followed by an excerpt from the book:

Who is she? Battered and bruised, she first becomes aware of her total loss of memory while walking on a dark, lonely road. Before she arrives in an unfamiliar town called Valleyview, she makes up a name–Alice Strong--and claims she’s eighteen. Her injuries heal and she accepts a job at the local nursing home. During her first day of work, a patient passes away, posed as if ready for burial. Alice can’t understand why the death of an old woman she doesn’t know hits her so hard. When a second resident dies in the same position, the director of nurses, Betty Cranston, is positive residents are being murdered. She fears for her paralyzed mother. And she suspects Alice.


Alice must remember her past to help prove her innocence. When she remembers this wasn’t her first blackout, dread holds her back because what she does recall might all disappear a third time. Can she piece her puzzle together before the killer strikes again? Should she even try?



Spring, 1988

            Head throbbing, the young girl squinted so she could see better out of her swollen left eye as she trudged along the side of the dark, lonely road. A vehicle rumbled behind her. She turned around but didn't have the energy to even lift her arm to wave. The small car barely slowed down, so she started walking once more.
            Up ahead, the car backed up. Both hope and fear welled up inside her. When the car stopped, the driver rolled down the passenger-side window and turned on the dome light. Classical music floated toward her. Inside, she saw a young man with blond hair and blue eyes staring at her. If she hadn't been so weary, she would have thought him cute. Instead, she only felt indifference.
            “Need a lift?”
            She nodded. She moved like an old woman, slowly, carefully placing herself on the seat, gently closing the door.
            “You all right?” he asked, concern in his voice. “You’re a little banged up.”
            “I’m okay,” she mumbled.
            “You’re sure?” When she nodded, he asked, “Where you headed?” He ejected a tape from the deck and turned off the radio.
            “Anywhere,” she answered. He seemed nice enough, but she shivered slightly and hugged herself.
            “Anywhere?” When she didn't answer, he said, “What’s your name? Mine’s Donald Harris. I’m on my way home to Valleyview.”
            He waited. She glanced at him, looked away.
            “I’m… I’m Alice. Alice… Strong.” The name came to her with difficulty. She wasn't quite sure it was right. Staring out the side window, she touched her head gingerly where the blood had clotted. She winced. Why couldn't she remember what had happened to her?
            “Sure you don’t need a doctor? Want to call anyone?”
            “Oh, no! No, I’m all right. Need a bath.” She wished her head would stop throbbing. And what was the matter with her eye? 




Jan Christensen ©2013, 2014
BLACKOUT is Jan Christensen's fifth published mystery and is available both in print and e-book formats by going here. She also writes short stories and articles, many of which can be found round and about on the internet. For more info, check out her website: www.janchristensen.com or the author's page: http://www.amazon.com/Jan-christensen/e/B004XTXSYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Review: "The Posthumous Man" by Jake Hinkson

Things often don’t go as planned. Elliot Stilling had planned out his suicide and it should have worked. As far as he is concerned as this novella from author Jake Hinkson opens, it is exceedingly unfortunate that he didn’t stay dead. He had been dead for about three minutes when the emergency room staff at a hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas screwed up everything and brought him back to life.

The only thing he really remembers is seeing a black star tattooed on the wrist of a nurse with beautiful blue eyes. That same nurse by the name of Felicia Vogan shows up in his room hours later. Not only did she make an impression on Stilling as he lay dying, the former reverend made quite an impression on her. They have some sort of connection that will draw them together in ways neither saw coming in this intense noir style novella.

Considering that this read comes from the publisher “Beat To A Pulp” one already knows before starting the book that it will be dark, twisted, and feature multiple murders as well as at least one other major crime of some type. The Posthumous Man features all of that and more as well as a consideration of theology and the state of the world and the people in it. It is also an intensely good read.


The Posthumous Man
Jake Hinkson
Beat To A Pulp
December 20, 2012
ASIN: B00ARL5MBY
E-Book (also available in print)
190 Pages (estimated)
$0.99

Material was picked up last month during publisher’s free read promotion.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Sample Sunday: Excerpt from BLACKOUT by Jan Christensen

This week Texas author Jan Christensen shares an excerpt from her new mystery BLACKOUT. The synopsis below is followed by an excerpt from the book:

Who is she? Battered and bruised, she first becomes aware of her total loss of memory while walking on a dark, lonely road. Before she arrives in an unfamiliar town called Valleyview, she makes up a name–Alice Strong--and claims she’s eighteen. Her injuries heal and she accepts a job at the local nursing home. During her first day of work, a patient passes away, posed as if ready for burial. Alice can’t understand why the death of an old woman she doesn’t know hits her so hard. When a second resident dies in the same position, the director of nurses, Betty Cranston, is positive residents are being murdered. She fears for her paralyzed mother. And she suspects Alice.


Alice must remember her past to help prove her innocence. When she remembers this wasn’t her first blackout, dread holds her back because what she does recall might all disappear a third time. Can she piece her puzzle together before the killer strikes again? Should she even try?



Spring, 1988

            Head throbbing, the young girl squinted so she could see better out of her swollen left eye as she trudged along the side of the dark, lonely road. A vehicle rumbled behind her. She turned around but didn't have the energy to even lift her arm to wave. The small car barely slowed down, so she started walking once more.
            Up ahead, the car backed up. Both hope and fear welled up inside her. When the car stopped, the driver rolled down the passenger-side window and turned on the dome light. Classical music floated toward her. Inside, she saw a young man with blond hair and blue eyes staring at her. If she hadn't been so weary, she would have thought him cute. Instead, she only felt indifference.
            “Need a lift?”
            She nodded. She moved like an old woman, slowly, carefully placing herself on the seat, gently closing the door.
            “You all right?” he asked, concern in his voice. “You’re a little banged up.”
            “I’m okay,” she mumbled.
            “You’re sure?” When she nodded, he asked, “Where you headed?” He ejected a tape from the deck and turned off the radio.
            “Anywhere,” she answered. He seemed nice enough, but she shivered slightly and hugged herself.
            “Anywhere?” When she didn't answer, he said, “What’s your name? Mine’s Donald Harris. I’m on my way home to Valleyview.”
            He waited. She glanced at him, looked away.
            “I’m… I’m Alice. Alice… Strong.” The name came to her with difficulty. She wasn't quite sure it was right. Staring out the side window, she touched her head gingerly where the blood had clotted. She winced. Why couldn't she remember what had happened to her?
            “Sure you don’t need a doctor? Want to call anyone?”
            “Oh, no! No, I’m all right. Need a bath.” She wished her head would stop throbbing. And what was the matter with her eye? 




Jan Christensen ©2013
BLACKOUT is Jan Christensen's fifth published mystery and is available both in print and e-book formats by going here. She also writes short stories and articles, many of which can be found round and about on the internet. For more info, check out her website: www.janchristensen.com or the author's page: http://www.amazon.com/Jan-christensen/e/B004XTXSYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Sunday, August 25, 2013

"By The Light Of The Moon...." in Carpathian Shadows, Volume II ---Sample Sunday

Deep in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains, in Transylvania, lies an castle once home to a nobleman who warred with the church, bound his servants with a curse of silence, and ruled his lands with a grip of iron. Lord John Erdely has been dead for centuries and his castle now a haven for tourists. Or so, at least, is the claim. Under the editorial direction of Lea Schizas, six authors tell what happens to these tourists.

 As one of the six authors, my story "By The Light Of The Moon...." combines elements of mystery and fantasy fiction to give readers something very different from the traditional type tale. Published by Booksforabuck.Com the book is available in print and e-book forms at the publisher, Amazon, and elsewhere. While supplies last you can order an autographed print copy of Carpathian Shadows Volume 2 direct from me for the low price of ten dollars. That includes the media rate postage.
 



“By The Light Of The Moon....”
"Is he here?"
"Yes, Commander."
"How is he?"
What he was asking was whether or not the suspect had made it alive into his station. He should have but sometimes accidents happened in the field. The young officer stepped a little ways into the room. New to his job, he was working hard to impress, which is why the Commander had chosen him. Things had to be contained, and he knew he could keep the man, more like a boy at twenty, in line.
"Typical American." The young officer couldn't keep the scorn out of his voice, "Very emotional. Fits of screaming and crying when we placed the cuffs on him. He's sitting quietly in Interrogation 4 now."
"Good. That will be all."
The young man saluted, swiveled in his black spit-polished boots, and strode confidently out of the office. The Commander sat back and smiled to himself while he listened to the pleasurable sound of the boots striking the floor fade away down the long hall. To be young again and so sure of righteousness, of purpose. Not that it really mattered, as fate ordained everything.  His die was cast long ago, as was my own, he thought, and the idea depressed him as it had the last few months.
He stood and stretched, feeling his spine pop before he walked down the same hall. Unlike the young man before him who had turned right so that he could pass the front desk and go back out on patrol, the Commander turned left and, with a few steps, began to feel like the walls were closing in on him. The truth was, they were as he journeyed deeper into the old section of the garrison. This part had been built into the mountain long ago, and the Commander secretly suspected that there had to be a tunnel from here up to the castle far above. He suspected it but had never tried to find out because he knew that in such matters, a lack of knowledge was safer than knowing the truth….

Sunday, June 30, 2013

June 2013 Reads and Reviews

Among many other things and most importantly, June saw Sandi safely return from Florida
having thankfully survived her stem cell transplant that will hopefully prevent yet another
unwelcome return of her non hodgkins lymphoma. With so much going on the last month 
reading took a backseat to life. In addition to interviews, news, market calls, free book alerts, 
and lots of other things on the blog, this is the complete list of the “June 2013 Reads and 
Reviews.” All reviews are mine unless otherwise noted.

Every Broken Trust: A Mystery by Linda Rodriguez

Pilikia is My Business by Mark Troy--FFB Review

THE VANISHERS by Donald Hamilton --FFB Review (Barry Ergang)

Organized To Death: A Lighter-Side Mystery Story by Jan Christensen

Keller’s Therapy by Lawrence Block

If You Can’t Stand The Heat (The Kit Tolliver Stories) by Lawrence Block


Singularity by Kathryn Casey--FFB Review
 
The Mojito Coast by Richard Helms

Three-Ten to Yuma by Elmore Leonard---FFB Review (Barry Ergang)


Not a bad one in the bunch and lots of variety for your reading consideration. My thanks again to Barry Ergang who helped me keep things going.


Kevin